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[chezp]

Friday 9 May – part five: “go on, give it a go”

On the way out, we headed into the neighbouring Pump Rooms, which also date from the Georgian era and, as you can see, they’re a splendid place to dine:



The reason we were in here? Because I just felt that the others had to try the water that comes out from a natural spring and gives the name to the Pump Room. I’d tried it before many years and knew it was warm and not exactly nice, but still I stood there, saying “go on, give it a go”! Steve did question why I didn’t try it, but didn’t say too much more than that – here are their reactions:



We were almost done, but there was one final thing we wanted to show Sue and Steve and that was the beautiful Pulteney Bridge, so we walked over there, took a few photos and then back it was to the car.


Another view of Bath Abbey

The shops on the bridge

On the way out, we saw a village that we just had to take a photo of – I don’t know if you can read it, but it’s called Pennsylvania!



Not long after we got on the road, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy journey, as we had heard that the M40 was closed and all the traffic was going on to the M4, which was part of our route home. We heard about how long the queues were, so we diverted off from the motorway and, although the traffic was still heavy on the route we took, it only added about 20 minutes to the journey.

Soon we were getting into the area of Heathrow, as you could see by all the planes coming in to land and taking off. We saw Terminal 5 as we headed to the hotel.



We found the hotel that Sue and Steve would be spending their last night in the UK at and parked up. Steve and Sue went to room and we sat in lobby. Mark got two drinks, a Malibu for me and a coke for him, which came to £11! (about $20). Wow. We definitely needed a drink after that!

We looked at the menus for the hotel’s two restaurants and suggested the American Grill when they came back down and they agreed, so in we went. I had the nachos followed by the swordfish, while Mark had the vegetable soup followed by the prime rib steak.



Steve wanted pasta with his, instead of potatoes or chips and eventually got it, after an argument with the server about whether it would be free – he got his way, with some persuasion from Mark!


Sword fighting at the dinner table!

As you can tell from the photos, we were having a great time, but it was tinged with sadness, as we all knew that we would have to say goodbye at the end of the meal. I think we all kept dragging it out as long as we could to put off the dreaded moment and, as the meal progressed, Steve had one or two drinks shall we say and Sue decided she needed to capture everything he was saying on the video camera!



Then the moment came to say goodbye. We paid for our parking and could put the moment off no longer. I was crying my eyes out and there were lots and lots of hugs, which went on for ages, but eventually we had to go and sadly headed to the car.

The journey back home was fine, although we said very little, something to do with the fact Mark was losing his voice (I suspect it was probably the same thing Steve had and that was confirmed when I caught it a week or so later!) but it also had something to do with the fact that we were so sad.

When we got back, the house seemed so empty without them. We had had an awesome time, but it just seemed to end too quickly. We hope to see them back one day and I think we will, as they were certainly talking about “when” they would come back, but we will also do what we can to get over to see them….

The weather today was cloudy, then sunnier and hot, with temperatures in the 70’s.
The best thing today was our wonderful pub lunch.
The worst thing today was having to say goodbye to Sue and Steve.
The funniest thing today was dinner.
Today we tried lunch at a pub in the middle of nowhere
And the result was it was an amazing find.
The most magical moment today was being shown into the underground area of the pub

[Colexis Mom]

I'm sorry it's all over I'm glad you guys had such a great time together!! Thanks for letting us all be a part of it

[RobDVC]

The meal looked superb!
Sorry that it had to end.
Thanks for sharing your trip report with us.

[emtpej]

Loved the photos of the tri-level dam with the Pulteney Bridge behind!

So sad to bid friends farewell, till we meet again.

Thank you for sharing!

[DisneyFanAnn]

Thank you so much for sharing everything with us!
I kept showing the updates to my DH and he said "we should go back to London - and maybe we'd get lucky enough to have such great hosts!"

[lauren-roxy]

What a great report!!! I'm just so sorry that it's over. Thanks so much for sharing and the photos were wonderful!!!

[poohmaine]

What a great report! You did so much in such little time . . . I was quite exhausted just reading about some of your days! I think you did a wonderful job of tour guide for Sue and Steve, and I'm sure they're forever grateful.

Thanks for sharing your travels once again!

[karmic]

Now that was a great report! Sue and Steve could not have picked a more beautiful time to visit. The weather was gorgeous and your pictures are wonderful. The two of you have been wonderful friends to your American visitors. Thanks so much for a very enjoyable visit to your beautiful country.

[clio]

That was a great report. I'm sorry it's over. Everything looks so beautiful amd all the pictures were lovely.
Liz

[DrDolphin]

Thank you for sharing your trip and time with Sue and Steve - although I am very sorry to see it come to an end.

[rescuesk]

We are ready for another visit.

But in the meantime, there is a little reminder on it's way to you!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by rescuesk

We are ready for another visit.

But in the meantime, there is a little reminder on it's way to you!

Cool - can't wait to get that... and great minds must think alike, as seriously, there's a little reminder on its way to you guys right now!

[Nimros]

What a fantastic report - all the way through.

I have to admit I had to stop reading for a bit; I knew the end of the visit was coming and like a good book when you don't want it to be over, I put it away for a little bit.

Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us. I'm sure I'll be re-reading this and looking at your photos over and over again.

[Lemap760]

I hate to see this trip come to an end. Thanks for sharing your experiences and all your wonderful pictures.

[joyjoy]

Chez,

This was one of my favorite TRs by you ever. It was just fantastic - You and Mark are such awesome tour guides, and your PICTURES. Omg. I could have looked at those photos of Leeds Castle and grounds all day. And Paris? Lovely. Thank you for an excellent view into your visit with your friends. It was amazing.